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| India-Pakistan |
| Kasab wants to challenge death sentence: report |
| 2010-06-05 |
| [Dawn] A Pakistani national sentenced to death by an Indian court for his part in the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks has lodged an application to appeal, the Times of India said on Friday. The newspaper said prison authorities in India's financial capital had confirmed that Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab had approached the city's high court to challenge the sentence and apply for a state-funded lawyer. Kasab was convicted last month of a string of offences, including waging war against India, mass murder, terrorist acts and conspiracy in connection with the November 26, 2008 attacks that killed 166 and injured more than 300. The 22-year-old was the only one of the 10 extremist gunmen to be captured alive during the three-day assault, which targeted the city's main railway station, three luxury hotels, a popular restaurant and a Jewish centre. No one was immediately available for comment at the high-security prison in central Mumbai where Kasab is being held when contacted by AFP. Death sentences - reserved in India for only the "rarest of rare" cases - by law have to be confirmed by the local high court after reviewing the evidence. Defendants have a right of appeal and can challenge the ruling all the way to the Supreme Court in the capital, New Delhi. A final plea for clemency can be made to the country's president. Senior state government officials in Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital, have said they want the verdict and sentence ratified swiftly, amid public calls for Kasab to be executed as soon as possible. But questions have been raised about how long Kasab will be kept on death row, as India has not carried out an execution since 2004 and only two since 1998, while dozens of final clemency appeals are still pending. The country also has a shortage of hangmen. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 All the romance and shine worn off the martyrdom and We Love Death thing after sitting in the cooler for awhile, eh Kasab? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-06-05 15:47 |
| #1 The country also has a shortage of hangmen oh puhleez. Reeeeeallly? No volunteers? I doubt that. Oh right, it's Dawn |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-06-05 09:52 |